The law would establish a one-year prison term and 45,000-euro ($56,400) fine for those denying genocide.

Free vote

Turkey has been warning France for weeks not to pass the bill.

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said on Wednesday: "If this bill is passed, Turkey will not lose anything but France will lose Turkey. [France] will turn into a country that jails people who express their views."

The opposition against Turkey in the EU has begun to present an ugly face